Promotion and Tenure Overview

The process for academic promotion aims to validate faculty achievements by formal awards of title and seniority. Faculty members must familiarize themselves with the expectations for promotion specific to their track, see Guidelines for Promotion and Tenure (Word document). Tenure track faculty members must also be aware of the time restrictions on applying for tenure and for transfer to the clinical scholar track. Academic promotion should be a continuous process, beginning at recruitment and formally monitored at least annually as part of regular faculty review. Faculty members must discuss academic promotion with their department chair. Junior faculty members are required to identify a mentor or mentors early in their careers to provide additional advice on promotion and tenure and other faculty development issues. Open informational meetings on the promotion and tenure process are held every spring, and faculty are encouraged to contact the Office of Professional Development and Faculty Affairs in Kansas City or the Office of Faculty Development (OFD) in Wichita any time they have questions.  ALL faculty who have decided to apply for promotion and or tenure are strongly encouraged  to contact Jo Halverson in Kansas City or Marianne Eyles in Wichita to schedule a meeting to review their SOM formatted curriculum vitae.

2012 Revised Timelines

The call for applications for academic promotion and award of tenure is made each year in the Spring and the deadline for receipt of applications is September 1, or the following Monday if September 1 falls on Saturday or Sunday (due to the Labor Day holiday, the deadline for 2012 is September 4). Links to application materials and instructions are provided at left. Blank copies of these documents will also be in your online submission folder if you are approved for nomination.

Department Chairs and Department Promotion and Tenure Committees will be expected to review your application and provide feedback to you no later than August 1st.

The revised timeline will:

• ensure that every faculty member who is interested in applying for promotion is offered the opportunity to discuss  his/her application with a representative from  PDFA (KC) or OFD (Wichita)
• allow  Departmental Promotion and Tenure Committees sufficient notice and the time required to schedule their meetings and thoroughly review each request for promotion and/or the award of tenure
• provide the Department Chair with the recommendation from the Departmental Promotion and Tenure Committee in a timely manner resulting in an earlier response to the faculty member
• provide the faculty member earlier access to the required documents needed to complete his/her application  and
• allow the campus Promotion and Tenure Committees to schedule their meetings earlier and work more efficiently.

You will still be expected to provide one complete paper copy of your application. See "Submission Checklist" for complete list of required documents. If you are considering an application for promotion this Fall, please join us at one of the training sessions to be announced by email. If your department has a designated staff member who assists in the preparation of your documents, he/she is also welcome to attend one of the training sessions.

For additional information on the process, individuals should contact Jo Halverson in Kansas City (8-5274) or Marianne Eyles in Wichita (3-3560), or the Associate Dean for Professional Development and Faculty Affairs, Robert Klein, Ph.D. in Kansas City (8-2739), or the Associate Dean for Faculty Development in Wichita, Anne Walling, MB ChB (3-2607).

PLEASE NOTE: Access to the Letter of Intent is denied beginning at 5:00 pm on May 1st.

The links on the left are tools to be used in preparation for promotion. You should familiarize yourself with these documents prior to submitting a Letter of Intent.